The Prime Minister of Italy, Giorgia Meloni, has received an invitation to the inauguration ceremony of the 47th President of the United States, Donald Trump, in Washington on Monday, but this is an exception.
Traditionally, inauguration day is considered an internal event for Americans, and foreign nations usually send their ambassadors.
This time, however, Meloni is among a select group of world leaders invited to the ceremony, including China's Xi Jinping (who ultimately will not attend), El Salvador's Nayib Bukele, and Argentina's Javier Milei.
On Wednesday, a spokesperson for Viktor Orban stated that the Hungarian Prime Minister was not invited — despite media reports suggesting otherwise. No foreign leader received an "official" invitation, Budapest noted.
The Euroverify project analyzed records from the U.S. State Department and found no evidence that a head of a European state or government has ever attended an inauguration day since archives began in 1874.
However, social media users and commentators mistakenly labeled the exception of certain leaders — such as British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and his Spanish counterpart Pedro Sanchez — as unprecedented and indicative of tensions in relations.
Trump's decision to invite like-minded ultra-right politicians fueled such statements.
Among those expected to join the celebrations on Monday are Nigel Farage from the UK, Eric Zemmour from France, Tom Van Grieken from Belgium, former Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, Santiago Abascal from Spain, and André Ventura from Portugal.
No European leader has ever attended a U.S. presidential inauguration
A journalist from the British channel TalkTV, which has previously faced scrutiny from the regulatory body Ofcom for suspected breaches of impartiality rules, incorrectly called the exclusion of British Prime Minister Keir Starmer "a huge stain on British history."
The channel also referred to this move as "a significant omission."
Although several users on the social media platform X rushed to refute these comments, overlooking the fact that no British Prime Minister has ever been invited in the past, Euroverify was unable to find any community notes addressing the misleading statements.
The inauguration of Trump takes place against the backdrop of a political rift between Starmer and Trump's ally Elon Musk due to a decades-long scandal involving child sexual abuse in the UK. Musk accused Starmer of complicity in the scandal.
The billionaire also backed the ultra-right party Reform UK, which he reportedly plans to donate $100 million to.
However, earlier this month, Musk unexpectedly withdrew his support for Reform UK leader Nigel Farage, urging him to step down and stating that he "lacks what it takes" to lead the party.
The news that Santiago Abascal, head of the Spanish ultra-right party Vox and its sister European party "Patriots for Europe," was invited also fueled false reports in Spain that Prime Minister Sanchez was rejected in favor of Abascal.
Spanish Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares attempted to debunk these claims: "Heads of state and government are usually not invited to presidential inaugurations in the U.S. Invitations are personal rather than institutional. In fact, Spanish Prime Ministers, heads of state, or ministers have never attended a U.S. presidential inauguration," Albares added, confirming that the Spanish government will be represented by Ambassador to the U.S. Ángeles Moreno.
Guest list includes European ultra-right figures
Erroneous claims that Trump is intentionally sidelining EU leaders have been fueled by his decision to invite radical figures from Europe's ultra-right forces.
In addition to several prominent leaders of ultra-right parties, including Farage and Abascal, parties such as France's "National Rally" and "Alternative for Germany" will also send representatives.
The press service of the "National Rally" confirmed on Friday that it will be represented by Vice President Louis Aliot, spokesperson Julien Sanchez, and Deputy Alexandre Sabatu.
"Alternative for Germany," which is currently in second place ahead of the federal elections in Germany next month, will be represented by its co-chair Tino Chrupalla.
Eric Zemmour, leader of the ultra-right French party "Reconquête," and Mateusz Morawiecki, former Prime Minister of Poland and recently elected leader of the European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR), also confirmed their participation.